Ever since I moved to New York, I tried to suppress my shifts as much as I could, limiting them to once or twice a month. Now that I was back in my wolf form, I realized how much I missed it. The sensation of freedom, strength, and easiness was almost overwhelming.
I ran, and I ran until my paws hurt. I had reached the outskirts of the Brayden lands, so I stopped, circling back slowly. I sniffed the air as I paced through the trees to make sure nobody from the family had followed me. The sun was up in the sky already, which meant that everybody was probably up and about their daily chores. I only hoped Caleb would keep his mouth shut. I even expected them to go looking for me like I was some small, foolish child that couldn’t be left without supervision.
My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a strange scent, a fresh one, that filled my nostrils. It was weird since I couldn’t place a face to the owner, yet it was distantly familiar – like a memory of a dream. I thought of the white wolf for a second, almost turning and rushing back, but then I stopped. I had never met the white wolf before and this scent was familiar so it couldn’t possibly be him. There must be someone else around - or something else.
I picked the scent again and followed it.
Choosing my way carefully, I sniffed the air every few minutes to make sure I had not lost it. It took me a few miles north towards the city, so I was considering turning back again when a new layer of the same scent hit me. The sensation of somebody else’s presence nearby sent a rush through my body and I crouched next to a bush, listening carefully and trying to catch a movement. I stayed like that for a few minutes, but nothing happened so I simply shook my head, getting up and preparing to leave.
I hadn’t made more than a dozen steps when the bush in front of me shook and another figure stepped from behind it - a white wolf twice my size with black piercing eyes locked on me. He stepped slowly towards me and that was when my good judgment turned on, forcing me to retreat. I was rusty, unprepared, and much, much smaller than him – there was no way I could fight him off. And didn’t want him coming close enough to be able to use its teeth.
He smelled the air, then continued towards me. I thought about running, but I wasn’t sure if I could make it to the farm before he could catch up with me. I was fast, faster than most of the family, but he was big and something was telling me that would only make him enjoy killing me more. I couldn’t fight him and I couldn’t run. What else was left to do?
Show him you mean no harm, a voice in my mind whispered hesitantly. It was crazy, I would literally be begging for him to end me without a fight, but I selfishly wanted to live another day. I wasn’t part of this world anymore; I didn’t want anything to do with it, and I most definitely didn’t want to be killed by it.
I lowered my head obediently, eyes still locked on its shiny fur. It was magnificent, I realized as I stared in amazement. He smelled of grass and dirt and blood. The danger emanating from him made my fur stand on its end, but I forced myself to keep still. I preferred to go back to Caleb and have another torturing conversation with him rather than do this. I shouldn’t have followed the scent. But why was it so familiar?
His muzzle finally reached me and he sniffed the air next to me, my ears prickling at the sound. He started circling me, which only made me even more nervous. The way his dark eyes studied me made me wish he would just attack already.
When he neared me again from the side, his nose almost touching me, my instincts kicked in before I could communicate with them and let them know the plan. I jumped back, snarling threateningly. If wolves could smile, I swear he was grinning at me. I didn’t know what got to me, but the anger of his potential mockery annihilated any common sense and I took a step forward, snarling at him again.
That was when he attacked.
It was so fast that I barely had time to react. He pushed me with a force I didn’t expect even from a wolf his size, and I rolled a few times in the leaves, getting to my feet as quickly as possible. He was already at my side, pushing me again, almost as if toying with me. We wrestled between the trees, jumping at each other, but I couldn’t shake the feeling he was testing me.
He lowered his guard for a split second and I took my chance, swaying with my paw. It didn’t reach the neck, but my nails scratched his leg and bright red blood quickly stained the white fur. He seemed surprised for a second before his dark, angry eyes locked on me.
Playtime was over, I realized with dread.
He jumped at me as I tried to run. I waited for his teeth to dig into my body as he had me pinned to the damp ground, but the bite never came. His nails, on the other side, dug into my shoulder and I let out a howl. He pushed and pushed as if waiting for something, but the only thing I managed to do was let out another whimper.
The weight keeping me on the ground suddenly disappeared, and I looked around in surprise to find him running north, away from the Brayden farm. I got to my feet, and the pain intensified. Gritting my teeth, I decided it would be a great idea to put as much distance between us as I could before he changed his mind and turned back.
Walking was hard and slow and running was uncomfortable, so by the time I reached the house, I was barely holding myself back from changing into human form. I was pretty sure it would be much easier to walk on my real legs, but I felt uncomfortable going through the forest in my birthday suit even if no one was around.
I found the space I left my clothes and finally shifted back into my human form, letting out a groan as I rose to my feet. I swayed, leaning on the nearest tree, and reached for my pants with my good hand. Getting dressed turned out to be trickier than I expected, even though I could feel the wound healing itself slowly. I was just wondering how I was going to put my shirt on when I felt somebody coming from behind me.
“What the hell happened to you?” Ben’s voice exclaimed, and I turned to look at him. His eyes lingered on my upper body for a second and I realized I was just in my bra, frozen with my shirt in my hands. He gingerly looked away. “Please cover yourself before Caleb jabs my eyes out,” he added, and I hurried to put the top on. It didn’t cover my wound, so I had to be quick to get to my room and change before anyone else saw it.
“Let’s pretend you never saw me,” I said, preparing to go past him and towards the house. He blocked my path, frowning.
“What the hell happened to your shoulder? Those are definitely claw marks!” He insisted, stepping towards me and trying to get another look at my back. I jerked away, turning so he couldn’t see.
“It’s nothing. A fox jumped me.” I said the first thing that came to mind. He barely heard him, too busy sniffing the air. His eyes widened and his eyes locked on my shoulder, behind which were the scratches.
“You smell different,” he said, his heartbeat quickening. “And I know that smell. Did the white wolf do this?”
“No, it was a fox,” I lied, but his expression clearly showed he didn’t believe me. It was useless denying it. He probably knew the scent by heart. Arguing wasn’t helping either. I sighed. “He didn’t bite me, so I’m fine. Now please, don’t say anything to anyone.”
“What’s going on here?”
I cursed under my breath, turning to look at Ethan and Caleb walking towards us. I had been so focused on Ben and worrying about his blabbering about it that I failed to sense him. Luckily, they were not in a good enough position to see the marks on my back.
“Nothing!” I snapped, looking at Ben for support and finding none. It would seem leaving the family meant leaving any and all perks behind. It took him no more than three seconds to tell on me.
“Amelia ran into the white wolf,” Ben blurted before I could stop him. My brother’s reaction was immediate as he turned to me with wide eyes. “And he wounded her.”
I dreaded those words, not because I was worried that I would die, but because I knew how they would affect Ethan and Caleb – the two people who refused to believe that I didn’t need protection. That was then, that was now.
“I’m…” I started, but Ethan was already by my side, holding my shoulder with one hand so I couldn’t shrug him off. “...fine.” I finished with a sigh. “He just scratched me, it’s fine.” I insisted and since my brother was behind me and I was afraid if I looked at Ben, I would probably punch him in the face. My eyes ended up meeting Caleb’s. I took a sharp breath as I noticed his stiff expression, anger, and fear fighting for dominance over his face. His hands were trembling as if he had a hard time controlling himself, and for a moment I was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop his shifting.
“Are you stupid?” He said coldly, his palms balling into fists. “After seeing my father, after knowing what is happening to him…”
“I told you - he didn’t bite me,” I said. “And it’s not like I went looking for him.”
“I don’t see any signs of infection at the moment, but it needs to be cleaned before it heals,” my brother said behind me.
I tore my eyes away from Caleb as Ethan dragged me to the back of the house and seated me on one of the picnic tables. Ben disappeared somewhere, probably to report what had happened to Julian, and I sighed, letting my face fall into my hands.
“I shouldn’t have let you go there alone. It’s all my fault.” Caleb growled, pacing next to the table. I looked at him through my fingers only to find him biting his nails - a habit he used to have as a teenager, one I thought he had overcome. I had promised to kiss him every time he felt the urge to bite his nails, and after he was done exploiting my goodwill, he had actually stopped biting them. I hadn't seen him do it for years, even before I left.
“Don’t flatter yourself, the world doesn’t revolve around you,” I said, looking away from him. I could hear distant murmurs coming from the house accompanied by Clarissa’s worried voice, but I ignored them, deciding I didn’t want to know what they were saying. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“You’re right,” Caleb said, his voice icy again. “It’s entirely your fault. What were you thinking?”
I raised my head to meet his eyes.
“How was I supposed to know I’ll run into him?” I shouted. Well, ‘run into’ was not the right expression since I very purposely followed a scent I wasn’t that familiar with, but that was a fact I decided to omit. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he shifted, enraged by my foolishness and disregard for my life. Because that was it. I was in that stupid situation because of my poor judgment.
“You were told he has been trespassing, and that he is lethal! Why would you leave like that? Alone?”
“Why indeed?” I mumbled, painfully aware of all the levels of sarcasm in my tone. Four years ago I left, all alone, to join an unfamiliar world where I knew nothing of the dangers ahead; an hour ago I did the same thing, alone. Both times he could have followed. Not that I was stupid enough to point it out loud, but it was true.
Caleb’s face had turned red as if he had understood correctly my remark, but my brother’s return made him keep his mouth shut.